After Crystal
by fromtumblremeraldshard
Summary: So someone requested an AruAni post-crystal fic. This one's been with me for a long time now and I figured it has to be posted since its a work that made feel the feels.


_One. Two. Three._

_How long was I out?  
Where am I?_

Annie slowly fluttered her eyes open and scanned her surroundings. Her limbs were tied tightly to a makeshift bed. She couldn't move an inch. The air smelled damp and constricting- as if something is there suffocating her. The only source of light was the single torch hanging above her like some kind of death sentence- which will probably be given to her as an act of charity. She doesn't deserve an easy death and everyone knows it.

She sharply sucked in the forbearing air and tried not to focus on the confines of her dungeon. Her fear of closed spaces and being coaxed of information gripped her tight on the throat.

_There's no escape._

Tears ran down on her face against her will. She could practically see the walls she had built around her crumbling to nothingness. Her crystal had been the first, now her sanity.

_I just wanted to go home…_

The sound of rusting metal hinges caused her to whip her head to the heavily armed door. A single name passed through her mind- Armin.

She didn't know why she felt disappointed that it wasn't him.

"Yo!" A bespectacled brunette greeted rather creepily. A maniacal smile plastered across her face. Annie knew this isn't going to be easy.

"Remember me? I'm Hange Zoe of the Survey Corps. You killed my precious Sonny and Bean before, remember?" Hange giggled creepily, spectacles glinting eerily.

Annie didn't reply.

"Not much of a talker now, are you? Thought you'd have something to say to me that doesn't require…force."

A glint of metal was all Annie could see before she registered pain on her gut. She had been stabbed.

She gasped at the speed of the brunette. Looks like she's eager to have her blades on her, afterall.

Steam billowed ominously from her wound. All the while, blood continued to pour down her garments. The smell of Annie's own blood disgusts her. Blood disgusted her. And yet, she'd caused tremendous amounts of blood spill because of her mission.

_Curse this life. Wait, my life is a curse._

Hange twisted the blade slightly, eliciting a small groan from the female shifter.

"Tell me," Hange asked is a low tone, "where do you ought to bring Eren if ever you have captured him?"

_Home._

Another twist of the blade. More steam. Tears flowed down her face as she stifled a scream.

Annie chuckled to herself as she felt the warm liquid flow. I've been crying a lot lately.

Hange pulled out her blade and scowled. "Annie Leonhart. Former member of the 104th Trainee Squad. Ranked Fourth. Joined the Military Police. The Female Titan. Now, a subject for my experiments." She declared menacingly.

Leaning close to Annie's ear, she whispered, "You'll make a wonderful replacement for Sonny and Bean."

The door to Annie's dungeon closed and the surrounding guards trembled slightly at the sound of an ear-splitting scream.

/

It was a gloomy day. It's been raining for a while now and Armin wondered if there was a storm coming their way. There will be another expedition tomorrow and if the weather condition doesn't improve, they would either go into the rain or postpone it for another day.

Armin heaved a sigh and continued staring at the window. He's heard of Annie's escape from the crystal but that's all he knows. Corporal Levi said it's better not to pry since Commander Hange got it all covered. The tight voice and stiff posture of the corporal told Armin that he too wants to get his hands on Annie. She killed his previous squad afterall.

Deep inside, he is gravely concerned of Annie. Even after all that she's done, Armin couldn't help but feel like he'd missed something. Something vital to him. Thinking about it makes his heart clench painfully in his chest. _What did I miss? No, the better term might be What did I lose?_

Armin tried to shrug the feeling off to no avail. Why? Why is he thinking this now? Why does these kind of thoughts occur to him whenever he thought of Annie?

_Maybe because I had feelings for her before…_

Bullcrap. Didn't he chose to sacrifice her for the good of humanity? He chose humanity over his petty little dreams of him and Annie falling in love and living in peace.

His heart clenched. That's what he lost.

_It has been my choice. I have to live up to it._

That didn't stop him from sneaking out to the cell where Annie is being held.

/

Annie heard the door creak once more and she shivered. Barely an hour has passed and her wounds hadn't even fully healed and this crazy wanted another go at her? She had been scared many times. Time after time, the deaths she had caused come to her dreams to haunt her and everytime she wakes up screaming and muttering futile apologies to her pillow.

But that was before.

She's nothing more than a monster now. A monster that feels.

The idea was so ridiculous she laughed. What kind of monster feels fear? Didn't she sacrifice her humanity for the fulfillment of her mission?

Her mission that had failed. Now, she wallows in the consequences of her monstrosity. All those sacrifices for nothing.

"Annie?"

Annie's ears perked up at the familiar sound of a timid voice. She tilted her head to see who just came into her cell.

Lo and behold, the mighty Armin Arlert, the person she saved, the person who put her into this, the person she loved. Her heart skipped a beat at the sight of him.

_How long was I out?_

So long to the short coconut-head blond that had captured her heart with his guts and ideals. His hair grew longer and is neatly tied into a ponytail. He grew a couple of inches and his shoulder broadened. She acknowledged the presence of some muscles that weren't visible before that now peeks out even if he's still in uniform.

She managed a grunt. She doesn't want to deal with him now, even if she's happy to see him. She's afraid of the possible profanities he's going to throw at her.

Armin took a sleep closer to her and shrieked. Though there were no visible wound, Annie's uniform was soaked in dried blood. He balled his hands into fists. _How could Hange do this to her? This is inhumane!_

He carefully unstrapped her binds, earning a curious glance from Annie.

She's still breathtaking…

Annie continued to look at him. What does he think he's doing? Does he think that I'm not capable of killing him once I'm free from my binds?

Armin smiled at her and said, "You wouldn't."

"You sound so sure…" Annie rasped.

Armin shook his head, undoing the last strap and looking up at her. How he missed looking into those clear blue eyes. "Even if you had the chance, you never did."

"What makes you think this time will be the same?"

He helped her sit up and let her drink some water.

"I don't know. Are you willing to kill me this time around?"

_No._

"You can't coax anything from me."

"Look, Annie, if you just tell them what you know no further harm will come to you." He said soothingly.

A tense silence followed. Should she just tell them? She'd heard that Reiner and Bertholdt were no more successful in their attempt to capture Eren that she did. What does she have to lose? Was she not forced into this all along? Doing things that are against her will?

"Will you let me go home if I tell you?" Annie asked quietly, hugging her knees close.

Seeing Annie's broken form broke Armin's heart. He doesn't know the answer to her question. Should he manipulate her into telling the truth? He once manipulated her into a trap…No. She didn't fall for it. She was expecting it. She will know if he's manipulating her or not. Annie's intelligent..more intelligent than she let on.

Armin pondered for a while. Is he really willing to manipulate her again?

"_I'm hurt, you know…"_

No. She's still here. Maybe it's not too late to scavenge what they had destroyed. Maybe he could trust her into doing what's best for humanity. Maybe he could let her trust him again.

He cautiously wrapped his arms around her, pulling her close to his chest. "Annie, I don't know the answer to your question but I want you to know…whatever happens, I will be right here. I can't promise you a smooth road. Life is hard and full of edges but I will be here to smoothen it for you."

_I love you._

Annie once again felt tears stream down. She was happy that he's here. Happy that he wrapped his arms around her and pulled her close. Happy even if he was the one who put her into this situation. Happy that this world has someone like Armin and that he's beside her. She doesn't deserve him but she can't help but feel foolishly happy with him.

_```end_


End file.
